An Enchanted New Year
by Jesus.Lives
Summary: A New Year's Cedfia fic for the fandom. Sixteen year old Sofia gets told of a New Year's Enchantment by Amber, which when read, will reveal her one true love. But it isn't what she was expecting.


**I may have joined the Cedfia fandom. Happy New Year to all reading!**

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><p><span><strong>An Enchanted New Year<strong>

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><p>It was the eve before the New Year in Enchancia and preparations were being made. Princess Amber was walking on air with the prospect of having another celebration that night... but it wasn't just the celebration that made her excited about the night. There was something that she'd had for a while that she wanted to try. A secret enchantment, if you will. And Amber knew exactly the person she wanted to try it on.<p>

"Oh Sofia!" Amber trilled, trying to get the attention of her sister amongst the workers preparing the ballroom.

"Amber!" the sixteen-year-old Sofia waved from across the room.

Amber rolled her eyes and then smirked at the wide-eyed Sofia. Although Sofia had become more poised since when she was eight, she was still as notably _Sofia_ as ever.

"Let's go somewhere private," Amber told Sofia covertly, taking Sofia's arm after they met in the middle of the room. "I have something to show you."

Sofia complied and obediently was whisked off to another room of Amber's choosing.

"I have something for you tonight. Something I've been holding on to for a moment just as this," Amber finally told Sofia.

"Oh, that sounds exciting," expressed Sofia. "What is it?"

"You don't just merely ask 'what is it?' Sofia. You have to wait for me to give it to you. This is an important sisterly moment. I just want you to understand that."

Sofia nodded. "I understand."

Amber handed Sofia a little scroll. "Here it is, but don't look at it now. You'll have plenty of time to look at it later."

"Okay..." Sofia twisted the scroll around in her hand, wondering what the point was of Amber giving it to her if she wasn't allowed to look at it.

"Anyway, as I was saying, there is this secret enchantment which occurs once a year when the clock strikes twelve on the Eve of a New Year. You say the enchantment while staring into a crystal ball and it will reveal to you who your true love is."

"It will?"

"Of course it will."

"Have you tried it?"

Amber looked to the ground and then back at Sofia with confidence. "Well, no. But I thought we could try it out tonight, as sisters. Won't it be exciting? To find out who the prince is that you're going to one day marry?" Amber squealed and clasped her hands together.

"I guess," replied Sofia trying to appear somewhat enthusiastic. "But what if I don't marry a prince?"

"Don't be silly, Sofia. You're a princess, of course you're going to marry a prince. And tonight we'll know exactly what prince is for you!"

Sofia was unsure but she didn't like disappointing Amber when she got like this. "But won't this ruin the surprise for the future?"

"Oh, Sofia. It will still be a surprise. It doesn't tell you how it will happen, just who it's going to happen with."

"I guess."

"Perfect. I'll meet you up in this room just before midnight."

"Okay, I'll be here."

"Good, now don't be late otherwise we'll miss our chance to use the enchantment for a whole year."

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><p>Sofia agreed to Amber, but part of her still didn't know if it was right. Wasn't it cheating fate to use such an enchantment? Would it be possible to change the outcome of the future by what they were doing?<p>

But she got ready for the ball to usher in the New Year and got prepared to try Amber's enchantment.

It was hard to be excited about all the dancing and festivities while she had all this on her mind. Sofia took a few deep breaths and tried to relax.

James was talking conspiratorially to his friends over in the corner. Their mother and father were dancing, Baileywick watching them with a smile. And Sofia was disappointed to see that Cedric was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh Cedric," she murmured. He was so stubborn, that man! Every time they made considerable progress, something like this would happen and Cedric would be nowhere to be seen.

It started to tick closer to the New Year and Sofia saw Amber sneak off from the party while their parents were distracted by giving toasts. Sofia excused herself and snuck off after Amber, following her up to the room. While Sofia had spent the better part of the day wrestling with taking part in such an enchantment, she eventually decided it was okay. What could it hurt? It wasn't necessarily real, maybe more like a party trick.

"Good, you're here!" exclaimed Amber when Sofia entered the room.

"I _think_ I'm ready to do it." Sofia had talked herself into it enough by now.

"I'm glad. Now open the scroll."

Amber read over her shoulder while Sofia's eyes skimmed over the words.

"Are you ready to say them out loud?" Amber asked.

"I think so." Sofia didn't feel ready at all. What if her soulmate was someone she didn't like? What if her one true love was someone horrible? If she was lucky it would be someone she didn't know, so she'd have to wait to be able to make up her mind about them.

"Okay, you've got three minutes."

Amber was staring at one of her father's pocket watches that she held in her hand, as the hands of the clock went round counting down the seconds.

"I'm nervous Amber."

"It's okay, Sofia. But won't it be better to **know**? To know once and for all that there's a perfect prince out there for you somewhere?"

"I guess."

"Two minutes."

"And you're going to do it too right?"

"Of course I am Sofia. Right after you, of course."

Sofia breathed out in relief.

"Are you ready to read the enchantment?" Amber asked again.

"I am."

"Thirty seconds... twenty... ten... go."

Sofia stared into the crystal ball in front of her and said the enchantment flawlessly, looking at the scroll only a couple of times. The crystal ball went dark at first but then the dark puffy clouds reflected in the glass cleared and showed a very familiar sleeping face.

"Cedric," Sofia breathed, hardly daring to believe it.

Amber couldn't believe it either. "Cedric? He's not a prince or a Prince Charming!" There was only one explanation, Amber took the scroll right out of Sofia's hand. "What a pity it didn't work. I guess we can throw out this enchantment then."

Sofia was in a daze, completely forgetting that Amber had promised to do the enchantment too. It was as if she was seeing the world for the first time. "Mmm," she replied in an unthinking agreement.

"I guess you won't know who your true love is until you meet him, Sofia. It is rather disappointing. I would have wanted to know now. But I guess waiting isn't such a bad thing after all. It makes it more special, don't you think?"

Sofia was barely registering what Amber was saying. "Yes, yes it does," she responded absently.

"Well I'm glad you agree. We'll wait together and the moment that one of us discovers who our true love is, we'll tell each other as soon as possible."

"Mmm," Sofia responded again. "I just remembered, I have something to do. Happy New Year Amber."

"Happy New Year Sofia. Sorry it didn't work out again!"

But Amber had to call out after her, because Sofia had already taken off.

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><p>After climbing to the top of the stairs where Cedric's workshop was, Sofia banged on the door, having no idea what she was going to say or even if she was going to say anything. But she had to see him, she had to see for herself if it was really true.<p>

Honestly there was never a time where Sofia could think of where she _hadn't_ loved Cedric in some way. Maybe when they first met when she was a hopeful eight year old and he took her (though rather reluctantly) under his wing, but even then there was that budding affection somewhere in the mix.

But Cedric had become more and more to her with each year that passed. And now on the eve of the New Year, Sofia had finally realized it. What would he be to her during the next year of her life? There was so much to anticipate.

Sofia didn't know how long she'd been there at his door, staring off into space, contemplating all these things.

But finally she heard him grumble and start to open the door from the inside.

"Mr Cedric!" Sofia exclaimed, surprised. She wasn't surprised to see him there, but she was surprised to find out the truth all along. The enchantment had been right. It was only Cedric. It had only _ever_ been Cedric.

"What is it Sofia?" Cedric replied, sounding rather miffed, with his hair sticking up all over the place and his wand at the ready.

"I-I..." she was at a loss for words. There was no way she could tell him what she had just discovered, she was barely processing it herself. "You're sleeping," she finally said. "It's the New Year. You shouldn't be sleeping Mr Cedric, you missed out on all the fun."

"Yes, well, your royal carousing has kept me up to all hours of the night. I'm rather grateful this time only comes around once a year."

Sofia shook her head and beamed at him. Her grumpy sorcerer. How could it have ever been anyone but him?

"Well, I just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year."

"Oh," Cedric was taken aback. Although he really shouldn't have been by now. It was very much like Sofia to do something like this. "Well, Happy New Year to you too, I suppose."

"Good night Cedric."

Sofia gave him one last smile before descending down the stairs, leaving a bewildered Cedric in her wake.

It was going to be a Happy New Year indeed. One open to new possibilities and new realizations, just like the one she had made tonight.


End file.
